


Secret Santa Shananigans

by stjarna



Series: 25 Days Christmas Romance Challenge and AoS Advent 2017 [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: 25 Days of Christmas Prompt Challenge, All mistakes are my own, Bus Kids - Freeform, F/M, Friends to Lovers, unbetaed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 19:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12895074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stjarna/pseuds/stjarna
Summary: From the25 Days Christmas Romance ChallengeDay 2: Character A’s best friend rigs the Secret Santa, because they know Character A has a crush on Character B.





	Secret Santa Shananigans

“Hey, so who did you get?”

Surprised, Fitz looked up from the small piece of paper in his hands when Daisy’s voice cut through the thick layers of thoughts and worries currently stacking higher and higher in his mind.

“Are you okay?” his friend asked full of concern. “You look a bit pale around the nose.”

“I got Jemma,” Fitz somehow managed to stammer.

A wide grin appeared on Daisy’s face. “Sweet!”

“ _Sweet?_ ” Fitz’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I got Jemma Simmons!”

Daisy pursed her lips, nodding. “Yeah. You like her, remember?”

Fitz slumped his shoulders. “Yeah, but… but… now I have to get her a present and she’s going to think I’m some kind of idiot. I mean an even bigger idiot than she probably already thinks I am.”

Daisy scoffed, placing her hand reassuringly on Fitz’s shoulder. “I have it on good authority that she doesn’t think that.”

One corner of Fitz’s mouth ticked up into a doubting half-smile.

“Dude,” Daisy squeezed his shoulder gently, “this is a top-notch opportunity! You’ll blow her away with the most thoughtful gift ever and then you two can finally admit that you’ve got the hots for each other, start dating, have sex and produce cute nerdy babies.”

“What?” Fitz found the high-pitched sound of his panicked voice rather unpleasant. “No.” He shook his head vehemently. “No, no, no. She… I… She doesn’t.”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “You’re an idiot.”

“Hey!”

Daisy shrugged. “You said that about yourself, literally thirty seconds ago.”

Fitz sighed, his eyes wondering back to the piece of paper in his hand. “I don’t know.”

Once again Fitz felt Daisy’s hand on his shoulder, causing him to look back up.

“Just get her a fucking awesome gift already,” Daisy ordered him. “I know you probably have a list somewhere.”

“Fine,” Fitz replied, resigning to the inevitable.

Daisy grinned back at him mischievously, bopping her head once. “Good, because if I go through the trouble of rigging this Secret Santa spiel to pair you up with her then you better deliver the goods.”

Fitz gasped in shock. “You did _what_?”

“My work is done.” Daisy gestured at herself, before pointing at Fitz with both hands. “The ball’s in your court.”

* * *

Jemma stared in disbelief at the necklace with the rose pendant in the small gift box, her mouth gaping slightly ajar. She looked up at her friends, searching out everyone’s eyes. “Who… who—?”

Bobbi shrugged. “I think that one came from Fitz.”

Jemma’s eyes widened in surprise. “Where is he?” she asked quietly, feeling a tight knot forming in her throat.

Hunter gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “Think he went outside a few minutes ago.”

“He went outside?” Bobbi exclaimed. “But we’re in the middle of exchanging—?”

Jemma pushed herself up to standing, carefully cradling the small box in her hands. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

* * *

He sat on the porch steps, his forearms resting on his knees and his thumbs absentmindedly scratching on the label of his beer bottle.

“Fitz,” Jemma said quietly as not to startle him.

He turned his head in surprise, looking back at her wide-eyed. “Oh. Hey. Hi,” he stammered, seemingly flustered.

Jemma sat down next to him, extending her hands holding the open gift box slightly in his direction. “Is this from you?”

His eyes darted back to his beer bottle. “Umm.”

“Bobbi said you came with this present and—”

Fitz nodded slightly, still focused on his beverage. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”

A smile flashed across Jemma’s face, but faded just as quickly, saddned and confused over his distantness. “Fitz. It’s… how did you?”

He cleared his throat, briefly glancing at Jemma, before avoiding her eyes again. “I noticed you rummaging around your office the other day. And you seemed upset, and when I asked if anything was wrong, you said that you—”

“—had lost something my grandmother had given me,” Jemma finished his sentence, remembering their interaction.

Fitz looked at her, one corner of his mouth ticking up into a shy smile. His blue eyes gazed at her with a warm softness.

“Yeah,” he confirmed, quietly. “And you didn’t say what it was, but then I noticed that you weren’t wearing your necklace anymore.” He shrugged. “So I figured—”

Jemma’s lips pulled into a wide disbelieving smile. “Where on earth did you find it? I was sure I looked everywhere.”

Fitz pressed his lips into a thin apologetic line. “I didn’t. I… I just looked at your ‘Employee of the Month picture’ and replicated it.”

Jemma drew in a surprised breath, staring at the necklace in the small gift box. “You _made_ this?”

Fitz nodded ever so slightly. “Yeah.”

“Fitz, why would you?”

He shrugged, once again finding the label of his beer bottle seemingly more interesting than her. “It was your grandmother’s. Seemed important.”

Jemma blinked rapidly as tears pushed to the surface. She swallowed when the knot she’d felt in her throat earlier returned. Her fingers traced the intricate surface of the rose pendant. “This is… I… I don’t know what to say. I… I don’t even know if I should accept his. I mean it clearly goes far beyond—”

“No,” Fitz exclaimed suddenly, looking at her with pleading eyes. “Please, just… please keep it. It makes you happy.” The corners of his mouth twitched briefly. “I like seeing you happy.”

Jemma smiled widely. She inhaled deeply, exhaled sharply. “How can I make it up to you?”

Fitz shook his head. “You don’t have to.”

“But I—” Jemma sighed. “Could you take me out for dinner?”

Fitz wrinkled his forehead and Jemma drew in an embarrassed breath, realizing what she’d said.

“I… I… I mean, could I take _you_ out for dinner?” she corrected herself.

Fitz chuckled briefly, before shaking his head. “You don’t—”

“I’d love to,” Jemma interjected immediately and truthfully.

“As a thank you?”

Jemma shrugged. “Maybe… or not.”

Fitz stared at her wide-eyed, his lips slightly apart. “Or… or not?” he stammered barely above a whisper.

Jemma couldn’t help but smile, before leaning in to place a soft kiss against his lips.


End file.
